After defeat, Rockets focused on beating T-Wolves

Rockets back to earthAfter defeat, team focused on beating T-Wolves

Published 5:30 am, Sunday, March 20, 2005

The Rockets are trying to remind themselves that this has happened before.

A few weeks ago, they entered a game they were sure they would win against the Utah Jazz. Consequently, the Jazz cruised to an easy victory and left the Rockets shaking their heads.

The Rockets regained their composure two nights later in Chicago by dominating the Bulls in a 30-point victory. The Rockets went on to win seven of eight games, including six in a row.

The Rockets' confidence got the best of them Friday, however, when they tried to cruise to another victory and failed. They were adamant after the loss to Boston that it was a simple mental lapse and not a sign of serious trouble. Tonight they will try to prove it against Minnesota.

"It's never about the other team," Jon Barry said. "(Friday) wasn't about the other team. Yeah, we respect the fact they'd won nine out of 10, but we've been hot as well, and when we play to our capabilities we're not worried about who we play.

Desperate to win

"It's the same thing going into Minnesota. We know they are desperate to win every game. But we should have that same sort of feel as well."

The Timberwolves are reeling after losing their last two games, which has dropped them 2 1/2 games behind Denver for the eighth and final playoff spot. Minnesota will be playing its first game at home since embarking on a three-game trip, in which they defeated Dallas but lost to San Antonio and Memphis.

The Rockets expect the game to be far from easy. The last four meetings against Minnesota have been decided by six points or less.

The Rockets know how desperate Minnesota is to make up some ground in the Western Conference, but the Rockets' problems are all the players are thinking about.

"I don't care what they need," Yao Ming said. "I just care about what we need. We need to get back to the right way."

At this point in the season, it's impossible for the Rockets not to look at the bigger picture. As soon as they leave Minnesota, they must return to Toyota Center to play Miami and Shaquille O'Neal on Tuesday and Cleveland on Thursday.

After a trip to New Orleans on Friday, the Rockets then visit San Antonio on March 27.

The Rockets are sixth in the Western Conference standings — a game behind Sacramento and four back of Dallas.

"Everyone is trying to get their playoff position, and we're trying to get home court," Ryan Bowen said. "We're trying always to improve our position, so (today's game is) just as important to us as it is to them.

"I'm sure they need a win, but we need one, too. Especially if you look at who we have coming up, this is a very important game for us."

The Rockets expect their biggest challenge to be simply overcoming their own problems. Before the Boston game, the Rockets allowed themselves to start thinking ahead. Instead of talking about their goal of gaining home-court advantage in the playoffs, they talked more about their chances of winning the NBA championship.

Their mood was altered Friday, though, as they began to focus on their more immediate goals — a solid game today.

On cruise control

"We thought we were on cruise control, six in a row, everybody telling us how great we are, and just thought we'd show up and win, much like the Utah game a couple of weeks back," Barry said. "There was no focus, no attention to detail on the defensive end at all. No offensive continuity at all — shooting the first decent shot we got. A low number of assists. A bad, bad night.

"It's obviously a huge step back from the way we've been going. So that's disappointing from a mental aspect to think we can just show up, because we've tried that before and we've gotten burned. We just have to regroup and get ready for Minnesota."

Rockets summary

Braggs signed

With
Juwan Howard
moving to the injured list, the Rockets on Saturday signed power forward
Torraye Braggs
to fill Howard's place on the active roster. Braggs played 11 games with the Rockets last season, averaging 3.1 points and 3.1 rebounds.

"No. 1, there's familiarity," Rockets director of player personnel Dennis Lindsey said of the decision to bring back Braggs. "No. 2, he played well for us in limited minutes, which is hard to do. His plus/minus was very good. He's a mobile four that is a good offensive rebounder. And he has a good competitive nature."

To make room for Howard on the injured list, the Rockets waived rookie point guard Andre Barrett.

Braggs, 6-8, 245, has been playing in Russia and was flying to Minneapolis from Moscow on Saturday, but is not expected to be cleared to play until Tuesday's game against the Heat at the earliest.

Braggs was signed contingent on his FIBA release.

Since being released by the Rockets last season, Braggs had a brief stint with the Wizards and played in the CBA for the Yamika Sun Kings and the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Barrett averaged 2.1 points and 1.6 assists in 27 games with the Rockets,

On the line

The Rockets struggled in a number of areas against Boston on Friday, including at the free-throw line. The Rockets missed 11 free throws and lost the game 103-92.

Yao Ming, who played only 28 minutes, went only 8-for-12 from the line and said he knows he must improve in that area against Minnesota tonight. "I need to be aggressive inside and get more free throws — of course, I have to make more, not just get more," he said.

The Rockets shot a season-low 65.6 percent from the free-throw line. "When you're not concentrating throughout the game, one area it always affects is free-throw shooting," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said.